able bodied

Chow disappointed with able-bodied motorists occupying disabled parking spaces

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pix) is disappointed with the attitude of certain able-bodied motorists in the state who parked their vehicles in parking spaces designated for disabled persons.

He said that such attitude reflect their lack of empathy to the needs and difficulties of the disabled persons who wanted to mobilise themselves.

“Even though parking spaces for the disabled were not frequently occupied, able bodied people should not occupy them even if they found the spaces vacant. Just leave them for the disabled,“ he said when speaking at a Chinese New Year gathering organised by Society of the Disabled Persons Penang (SDPP) last night.

His remarks came after receiving complaints from members of SDPP who also called for stern action to be taken against those abusing these facilities.

He suggested SDPP to take up the role to stir greater awareness and to disseminate the knowledge on caring for the disabled persons among the general public in the state.

Meanwhile, SDPP President Datuk Teh Lay Kuan said there were still a lot more to do in caring for the disabled in Penang, particularly to tailor the facilities to meet their requirements.

Apart from the parking spaces, she said ramps meant for wheelchair-bound persons built in some newly completed buildings in the state were too steep and could not serve their purpose.

“We hope the relevant government authority can help us in this particular matter to rectify the situation,” she added. — Bernama

Senator says Medicaid too generous, able-bodied recipients should work for benefits

Missouri State Senator David Sater, R-Cassville (Photo11: State of Missouri)

JEFFERSON CITY—Sen. David Sater made no bones about it this week: he thinks Medicaid is out of control and he’s got the solution.

Currently, able-bodied adults can qualify for assistance if their incomes fall below a certain point, which the Cassville Republican say allows them to leech off the system.

To stop that alleged behavior, he’s proposing new requirements that able-bodied adults ages 19-64 work, attend school, search for a job or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month to maintain benefits. Eight other states have enacted similar rules.

His bill exempts several groups, including those with disabilities and those caring for young children, from the requirements.

The state estimates roughly 6,500 people will be subject to the requirements and about 4,300 will not comply and lose benefits.

Sater says that’s a step in the right direction for recipients and the state.

He pointed out that Medicaid now takes up roughly 40 percent of the state’s annual budget, compared to 28 percent 10 years ago, and said it would continue to grow if nothing is done.

A state analysis estimates the new policy would save $2 million per year. The program costs around $10 billion per year.

"And at the end of the day,” he said, “this bill is about introducing personal responsibility into a program that has none of it.”

Committee Democrats and a number of opponents questioned Sater’s bill, saying it would just make life harder for the state’s most vulnerable populations.

Emily Kalmer of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network said the requirements could hurt cancer patients, who she said often cannot work during their treatment.

Colleen Coble, CEO of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the requirements would also come down hard on the women her organization helps.

And Sidney Watson, a St. Louis University law professor, told the committee the proposal might also be illegal.

A federal judge blocked a similar plan in Kentucky last summer, and another lawsuit is pending against Arkansas, which became the first state to implement the requirements last year and saw roughly 17,000 people fall off the rolls.

The lawsuits contend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services failed to adequately vet the policies before granting waivers.

A number of others present to give opposing testimony did not get a chance to speak before the Senate gaveled into floor session. The hearing will continue next week. 

It’s not clear how much support there will be for the bill this year.

It passed committee last year, but it never made it to the Senate floor.

Read or Share this story: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/16/senator-able-bodied-adults-should-work-medicaid/2865044002/

As a blind actor and comedian, I believe able-bodied actors should be allowed to tell our stories too

As you may be aware, the very famous and able-bodied actor Bryan Cranston, of the hugely successful phenomenon that was Breaking Bad, has taken on the role of a disabled man for his recently released feature film, The Upside, and in doing so has stirred up an ongoing controversy: should able bodied actors really be taking on roles of disabled characters, or should such roles only be awarded to disabled actors?  

I am blind. I am also a stand-up comedian and actor who has benefited from the desire of a very small number of writers, producers and directors, to not only increase the on screen visibility of characters with disabilities, but also to authentically cast disabled actors in these roles.  Basically, I've played a few blind guys on the telly and I am grateful for those opportunities.

In spite of this though, I do not believe that all characters with disabilities need to, or should be played by actors with that disability, and to be honest, I find the outrage surrounding this issue to be quite ridiculous.

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Start your free trial leftCreated with Sketch. rightCreated with Sketch. 1/11 Scarlett Johansson cast as Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell

Blonde, white US actress Scarlett Johansson was announced to be playing the clearly Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi in Hollywood's Ghost in the Shell remake, much to the dismay of Asian film fans

2/11 Tilda Swinton cast as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange

Marvel sparked outrage when Anglo-Scottish actress Tilda Swinton was cast as Tibetan mystic The Ancient One alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange

3/11

Zoe Saldana was criticised for 'blacking up' to play the considerably darker-skinned soul singer Nina Simone in Nina

AP

4/11 Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Prince of Persia

The half Jewish, quarter Swedish actor was cast to play a Middle Eastern Prince in Disney's 2010 film

5/11 Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in forthcoming film Pan

Mara was been cast in the role of American Indian Tiger Lily, sparking an online protest from angry film fans

Warner Bros

6/11 Christian Bale plays Moses in Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings

Ridley Scott claimed he would never cast 'Mohammed so-and-so from such-and-such a country' in a lead role in his Biblical epic, and went on to cast an entirely white cast instead

7/11 Jim Caveziel plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

Catholic star Mel Gibson chose to cast a Caucasian American actor in the role of Jesus for his controversial film

AP

8/11 Micky Rooney plays a Japanese neighbour in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Who better to play Holly Golightly's Japanese neighbour IY Yunoishi than American actor Mick Rooney. At least Hollywood has come some way since 1961

YouTube

9/11 Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo

Ben Affleck became the subject of a few editorials in Latin American newspapers for casting himself (an American with English, Irish, Scottish and Swiss ancestry) as a Mexican CIA operative

10/11 Jennifer Connelly plays Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind

Alicia Lopez-Harrison de Lardé was a naturalised US citizen from El Salvador, but was played by an actress of Jewish, Irish and Norwegian descent

YouTube

11/11 Chinese actresses cast in Memoirs of a Geisha

What better way to alienate Japanese cinemagoers than to cast three Chinese actresses in the lead roles in a film about Japanese culture

REUTERS

1/11 Scarlett Johansson cast as Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell

Blonde, white US actress Scarlett Johansson was announced to be playing the clearly Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi in Hollywood's Ghost in the Shell remake, much to the dismay of Asian film fans

2/11 Tilda Swinton cast as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange

Marvel sparked outrage when Anglo-Scottish actress Tilda Swinton was cast as Tibetan mystic The Ancient One alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange

3/11

Zoe Saldana was criticised for 'blacking up' to play the considerably darker-skinned soul singer Nina Simone in Nina

AP

4/11 Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Prince of Persia

The half Jewish, quarter Swedish actor was cast to play a Middle Eastern Prince in Disney's 2010 film

5/11 Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in forthcoming film Pan

Mara was been cast in the role of American Indian Tiger Lily, sparking an online protest from angry film fans

Warner Bros

6/11 Christian Bale plays Moses in Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings

Ridley Scott claimed he would never cast 'Mohammed so-and-so from such-and-such a country' in a lead role in his Biblical epic, and went on to cast an entirely white cast instead

7/11 Jim Caveziel plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

Catholic star Mel Gibson chose to cast a Caucasian American actor in the role of Jesus for his controversial film

AP

8/11 Micky Rooney plays a Japanese neighbour in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Who better to play Holly Golightly's Japanese neighbour IY Yunoishi than American actor Mick Rooney. At least Hollywood has come some way since 1961

YouTube

9/11 Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo

Ben Affleck became the subject of a few editorials in Latin American newspapers for casting himself (an American with English, Irish, Scottish and Swiss ancestry) as a Mexican CIA operative

10/11 Jennifer Connelly plays Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind

Alicia Lopez-Harrison de Lardé was a naturalised US citizen from El Salvador, but was played by an actress of Jewish, Irish and Norwegian descent

YouTube

11/11 Chinese actresses cast in Memoirs of a Geisha

What better way to alienate Japanese cinemagoers than to cast three Chinese actresses in the lead roles in a film about Japanese culture

REUTERS

First of all let us consider profile. A movie or TV show of note will require that certain parts are played by actors with a significant level of profile; people need to know who they are. Let's be honest, it's how the finished productions are marketed, and even how they get commissioned and secure investment in the first place. Without the weight of celebrity that an actor of Cranston's stature brings to the production, maybe the film doesn't get made, or if it does, it gets made for a significantly lower budget, in turn has a much smaller release, and is therefore seen by far fewer people. Basically, it becomes a different film.

To make this issue relevant to my own disability, would the movie Scent of a Woman have been such a commercial and critical success, if, instead of Al Pacino, there was an unknown blind actor playing that part?  

Would an unknown blind actor even be capable of achieving a fraction of the level of performance that Pacino put into that role? Of course not, I certainly wouldn't. Because the fact of the matter is that firstly, Pacino is one of the best actors in the world, and, secondly, because I am blind and opportunities are limited, it is simply impossible for me to build up the level of experience needed to become that good.

So should Scent of a Woman have been made with an unknown blind actor instead of Pacino? I say no, because it would have been a different film. It might have been good in its own way, but it wouldn't have been as good as the film that we know today.

Last year, there was a similar public controversy over Disney casting the straight Jack Whitehall as a gay character in their upcoming movie Jungle Cruise, but if we are to establish these lines that should not be crossed, in terms of what we can and can't do, or who we can or can't be, then exactly where do we draw them?

Would I, as a blind straight man, be suitable to play the part of a blind gay man? Would it be more appropriate for this part to be given to a gay actor who can see? What is more important: authentic representation of disability or sexuality? As you can see, all of a sudden it starts becoming fairly complicated, but I really don't think it needs to be.

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In my opinion, the bottom line is that actors act. They take on roles that are outside of the scope of their own life experiences, and some actors have far greater acting experience, range, and profile than others who might ultimately have a few more things in common with the character in question.

Comedian Trevor Noah of The Daily Show publicly said that he was initially of this opinion until he read the comments of an actor who was in a wheelchair. To paraphrase, the comments were that as a disabled actor, there just aren't enough opportunities for him to get work, and that it feels wrong to see a part for a disabled character in a wheelchair for which he would have been ideally suited, go to an able bodied actor.

I'm afraid I must disagree with these comments though for reasons I have stated above; this opportunity simply was not suitable for somebody with the profile and experience of this unknown disabled actor.

If however, profile or vast experience is not a consideration when casting a disabled character, then yes, consider this bloke, consider me; it would be greatly appreciated if disabled actors were considered for as many of these roles as possible.

Because what I do agree with, is that there simply aren't enough opportunities for disabled actors to work. Where gay actors are routinely cast to play straight characters, or characters where their sexuality is not relevant, disabled actors are almost never considered or sought out to play a character unless disability is specifically written into the script and key to the storyline.  

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Committing to providing greater opportunities for disabled actors should include writing disabilities into more roles where it is irrelevant to the storyline. Similarly, disabled actors should be considered to play characters where a disability has not been written into the script, but that ultimately would not hinder the plot. I'm not saying anyone should cast me as a Hell's Angel motorcycle hell-raiser, or a professional wrestler (I haven't got the pecks for either), but that lawyer arguing in court for a couple of scenes, perhaps he could be blind or in a wheelchair.

I just feel that the passion of these critical voices, who are keen to see greater representation of disabled actors on our screens, might be better channeled towards increasing more realistic opportunities for disabled actors who do not have the profile or experience of a Hollywood superstar, rather than attacking Cranston for basically doing his job.